Two hawker centres at Tanjong Pagar and Holland Drive will reopen for business on Jan 1 after a ten-month facelift.

The National Environment Agency said the markets and food centres at Block 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza and Block 44 Holland Drive will reopen on New Year's Day after going through its Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP), and that individual stalls will reopen when they complete their renovation works.

At each centre, patrons will get more seating and upgraded toilet facilities, and cooked-food stalls will have mechanical exhaust systems to improve ventilation. The markets and food centres were also re-wired and had their plumbing and tiling replaced.

Each centre was more than three decades old: The centre at Tanjong Pagar Plaza was built in 1977 while the one at Holland Drive was built in 1979. In total, 106 hawker centres have been upgraded under the HUP since the programme was launched in 2001. The upgrading involves the replacement of tables and stools, improvement to ventilation, upgrading of toilets and bin centres as well as other refurbishments.